The second of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers (AWDs) was officially handed over to the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) on 27 July.

Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, who attended the acceptance ceremony of NUSHIP Brisbane (with pennant number 41) at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, said in a statement that the 146.7 m-long ship, which was launched in December 2016, will enter service with the RAN later this year.

The vessel, which began builder’s sea trials in November 2017, was handed over by the AWD Alliance, which comprises the DoD, Raytheon Australia, and ASC Shipbuilding, supported by Navantia Australia.

Australia’s first AWD, HMAS Hobart, was accepted and commissioned into service in 2017, while the third ship, Sydney , was launched at Osborne in May and is set to be handed over to the RAN in December 2019 following sea trials.

“By using a combination of Australian and globally proven technologies, these highly capable warships will contribute directly to our maritime security and allow us to work even closer with our allies,” said Pyne.

In a separate statement, AWD Alliance General Manager Paul Evans said that the Air Warfare Destroyer programme “has proven that Australia is able to build and integrate ships from the ground up – evolving our understanding as we go, and generating further improvements along the way”.

The RAN’s Adelaide-class (US Oliver Hazard Perry design) frigates, of which only two remain in service, are being retired to make way for the Hobart-class AWDs, which provide the service with an improved war fighting capability.

Based on Navantia’s F-100 Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate design (with a number of Australian-specific modifications), the Hobart class deploys the Aegis combat system incorporating the AN/SPY 1D(V) phased array radar.